Dear Sage at 21 months,
Hello darling girl! This month you have turned the corner and left the world of “baby” back in 2013. January was a relaxed month as we all recovered from the chaos of the holidays. The most exciting part of January was supporting Daddy on his 50 mile trail race in San Diego. I knew this was going to be a big day for you and truthfully, I didn’t know what to expect.
We swept you out of bed before 5am and sent Daddy off at the starting line at 7am. For the following 8 hours we raced from one aid station to the next all over Escondido, nervously awaiting Daddy’s next appearance around the bend of a trail. Your performance on this day was outstanding and such a testament to your personality. With very little fuss or bother you were in and out of your car seat, shlepped around, baking in the heat with very little to play with or do. You ate on the go, napped on the go, and played on the go, with a smile on your sweet little face the whole time. Mommy forgot one shoe at home so you spent most of the day barefoot in the dirt. And unfortunately stepped on a snarly plant which meant I had to pull stickers and burrs out of your foot. That was the low point of the day. But, despite the foot issue, you were born a team player and somehow you knew this day wasn’t about you. It was about Daddy. And in your own way, maybe by making my life easier, you were supporting him too. Of course you cheered and clapped when we saw his red shirt bounce in from around a corner, “Yay Daddy! Rum Daddy Rum!” But it was the greatest gift to the both of us that you were able to go with the flow. I know how lucky I am that you are this child. Between the three of us and with a lot of help from my favorite parenting blogs, we have found respect for each other, which in my opinion, helps us be the family we are. Don’t get me wrong… we have our bad moments. We have some really bad moments but in these moments, and with a little help from my friends, I remind myself to forgive and remember the journey.
I have been thinking about a quote and article I read recently from http://www.positive-parents.org. The quote that precedes the article says, “When in doubt, love is the answer.” And the following article captures beautifully our intended parenting philosophy. We do not yell (at you. haha), approach parenting with a need to control, issue punishments, nor do we see ourselves as the dominant figures in your life. Instead, our goal, is to treat you with respect, listen, model good behavior then help you make appropriate behavior choices, set limits that are enforced respectfully and with empathy and in the end, when in doubt- proceed with love. I am not sure if you were born an easy child, or if it’s because you feel respected and empowered that you are an easy child. I guess I’ll have to wait to meet your sibling to test the theory.
Your Daddy has come to the parenting journey with such a head start. He is incapable of being unkind to you. It’s really quite astonishing how he has so much patience. He has much more for you than he does for me : ) He is committed to educating himself about being the best parent he can. He patiently reads all the parenting articles I send him, and actually finished the Love and Logic toddler book before me. You adore him and get the world’s biggest smile on your face when he walks around the corner, comes out of the office, or crawls back into bed with us in the morning.
This month you made us all laugh by saying, “Daddy LA.” You know that’s where he goes when he isn’t home and it’s so funny to hear you make sense of it all. Not only does Daddy go to LA but you leave the house with your shopping cart and tell me you are going to LA too. I ask how you will get there and sometimes you tell me you will take the train and sometimes you will take an airplane, “choo choo… a-pane”. Then you shout “bye Mama!” and march down the sidewalk. Missing toys are in LA too. We are missing the letter B on your alphabet puzzle and as we were cleaning up I asked you where it was. You casually responded, “LA.”
Some of the other fun words this month are: quesadilla, pan, avocado (cado), rice, tummy, pool, stroller, sit, stay, come, go, peek-a-boo (book-a-pee). You like to boss me around and say, “stay mama!” I think you are afraid that if you don’t tell me to stay put I might sneak off to get a cup of coffee or check an email.
You often request cheese for breakfast (your first choice is shredded cheese in a bowl), you run out of breath when you drink water, you say thank you and please all the time, when it comes to getting out of your car seat, you ask if Luna (Gigi’s dog) will do it. I explain that Luna is not here and due to her having paws, would not be able to get you out of your car seat. After listening to my explanation, and hearing that you are stuck with me, you run through a litany of people you would rather have getting you out of your car seat. Once you have reached the end and I tell you again that I’m the only choice, you give in and let me unsnap the chest buckle.
Your new favorite bed-time song is, “Baby Mine” and you have the most heart melting way of asking for it. You say, in your sweet little voice, “Mama, peas baby mime.” It’s nearly impossible for me to refuse you.
Sage you are my love, my sunshine, my moonshine, my star. You are my everything. Even on our hard days when I feel like all the parenting blogs in the world can’t make my deep breath deep enough, I look at you and know I have the world’s best job. I am the luckiest person to be your Mommy and I am grateful for it every single second of every day. That is no exaggeration. I love you from the depths of my heart.
You constantly make us laugh. This is a trash can on your head.
On a hike in Escondido during one of Daddy’s training runs
There were a few days in a row where you wanted to start the day with me pulling you around the neighborhood in your wagon.
You and your sweet buddy Noah
Another cutie!
Getting a sun tan at the Marbella pool
On the flagpole hike. You and Noah running down the big hill!
Your second official haircut with Connie
Peek-a-boo toes
At the start of Daddy’s race with Greg
helping Daddy at mile 40
At the end of the race. Daddy was so strong and so amazing. We were very proud.
Taking a snooze at fusion sushi
Sabine and Ellie doing your hair
The result
Getting ready to hike in to the climbing spot at Malibu Creek State Park
Practicing your smooch lips
An awesome outfit!
You stuck your head through the sleeve of one of Daddy’s t-shirts
reading one of your favorite books. Richard Scary’s things that go.
Clown nose!
You and sweet Noah
ready to go with Uncle Matt to KC in his suitcase. With your new hairdo.
Another good firefighter hat pic with Noah
Ready to ride the bike to Noah’s house!
babysedivec.com 
